Raclette

Why raclette is rated low

Raclette is low, with one rung on the ladder: "Any typical portion": LOW. That verdict is inferred, meaning it comes from what raclette is as a firm ripened cheese rather than from a weighed serving run through the published serving data, and no FODMAP subgroup is recorded for it. The practical catch is that raclette is almost never eaten on its own. It is a cheese designed to be melted over a spread of other things, and the accompaniments are where the FODMAP load of a raclette evening usually comes from, not the cheese under the grill.

What changes your risk

• Serving size The rating describes "Any typical portion", the amount you would normally melt over a plate. A raclette table encourages round after round, and repeated helpings across an evening stop resembling a typical portion fairly quickly.
• What goes under the cheese Boiled potatoes and cornichons are easy company. Pickled onions, onion chutneys and garlicky charcuterie are not, and on a raclette board they tend to outnumber the cheese.
• Stacking across the whole meal A low rating applies to a serving, not to the meal it sits in. A long raclette dinner piles wheat bread, several sides and multiple rounds of melted cheese into a couple of hours, and the total load of that plate is the thing worth watching rather than the raclette itself.
• Melting does not change the cheese Heat does not destroy FODMAPs, so melting raclette under a grill neither lowers nor raises it. The melted version is the same food as the sliced version.
• Pre-portioned and flavoured raclette Supermarket raclette sold ready to melt sometimes comes seasoned or in pepper, herb or garlic varieties. Those carry whatever is added to them, and the ingredient list is the only way to tell.

What else works

For the same melted, savoury role, hard cheeses such as cheddar, swiss and parmesan do similar work on potatoes or in a gratin. The cheeses to keep separate in your head are the soft and fresh ones that also melt or spread: ricotta, cottage cheese and cream cheese are not equivalents for raclette, and neither are processed cheese sauces poured from a jar, which usually carry onion and garlic in the sauce base. On the plate, the most useful swaps are not cheese at all: keep boiled potatoes and cornichons, and leave the pickled onions and the garlic sausage to everyone else.

How to keep it low

Buy raclette as a plain block or plain pre-cut portions rather than the peppered or herbed varieties, and read the label on anything described as garlic or wild garlic raclette. If you are hosting, lay out the board so your own end has the potatoes, the cornichons, plain cured meat and the cheese, and keep the onion chutney and pickled onions at the other end where you will not absent-mindedly reach for them. Melting your cheese in your own tray keeps it from picking up onion juices from a neighbour's. Because a raclette meal runs long, it helps to serve yourself as you would at a normal dinner rather than treating every round as a fresh start.

Common questions

is raclette cheese low fodmap

Yes. Raclette is rated low at "Any typical portion". The rating is estimated from what the cheese is made of rather than from a measured serving, and no FODMAP subgroup is recorded for it.

how much raclette can you have

The ladder gives "Any typical portion" as low, which is a normal plate of melted cheese rather than an evening of unlimited rounds. Nothing above a typical portion is described here.

what can you eat with raclette on a low fodmap diet

Boiled potatoes and cornichons are the classic partners and both suit the diet. Pickled onions, onion chutney and garlicky sausage are the parts of a raclette board to leave alone.

can i eat raclette during the elimination phase

Plain raclette is low at "Any typical portion", so it fits. Peppered, herbed or garlic-flavoured raclette needs its ingredient list checked first, because the flavouring is the variable rather than the cheese.